News Briefs: CDC: Vaccinations for tetanus can resume
Routine vaccination against tetanus and diphtheria can resume now that supplies of the vaccine have increased.
In May 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta recommended that routine booster doses be deferred due to a shortage that occurred when one manufacturer stopped making the vaccine.
Aventis Pasteur in Swiftwater, PA, the sole manufacturer of tetanus and diphtheria toxoids adsorbed (Td) for the U.S. market, has produced enough of the vaccine to enable the CDC to rescind the recommendation.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that adolescents and adults receive a booster dose of Td every 10 years.
According to a report published in the May 7 Annals of Internal Medicine, about 53% of U.S. adults in 1988-1994 lacked sufficient antibodies to tetanus and diphtheria to protect against those diseases.
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